One Month on Roaccutane

It feels like only yesterday I was being referred to see a dermatologist and here we are, one month into my Roaccutane treatment... Where has the time gone? In case you were interested, I've written up my Roaccutane Skincare Routine now that I've found a bunch of products that are working brilliantly for me!

~ Quick recap in case you're new around here: I've had acne in varying severities for over 6 years and have tried a whole range of treatments. I was on lots of different antibiotics for the majority of that time (yeppppp, probably not the best move) and tried pretty much all of the topical treatments under the sun. Nothing worked and I was eventually referred to see a dermatologist. ~

When I met him for the first time he advised that Roaccutane was probably the only thing that would make a significant improvement to my skin. This didn't come as any shock at alllllll, and if anything, I'd been wanting to go on Roaccutane to finally *hopefully* see the back of the acne, the antibiotics, and all the other lotions and potions I'd been trying. 

I was initially put on a 40mg dose - or two tablets - taken daily with a look to review it after the first month. I've since had this check-up and the dermatologist decided against upping the dose on account of the eczema I'd developed on my hands. Now, what with all of the extra corona handwashing etc we can't be certain it's entirely due to the Roaccutane but for the time being it definitely made the most sense not to up it again. I was advised that this might make the total length of treatment longer, but, I think I'd much rather that than try and tackle acne and eczema at the same time, especially as someone who's never had any sort of dry skin in their life.

Now, the thing you're probably all here for, the before and one-month-in photos:

As for the side effects, I, fortunately, haven't had anything too serious and everything has been more than manageable. I've had the expected dry skin, in particular, my lips and around my mouth, and have seen a massive reduction in oil production. Do you know what, it's great not to have a huge glistening forehead by lunchtime every day...

One thing I have noticed is just how dry the inside of my nose is. If I move my nose it constantly feels like its full of dry crusty bogeys... Sexy. Fortunately, I haven't had any nosebleeds yet, as I know they can be fairly common whilst on Roaccutane, and I can more than cope with a dry nose.

I've definitely been experiencing muscle soreness, particularly after any sort of vigorous exercise. Whilst this used to only last a day or two at most, whilst on Roaccutane this is lingering around for a lot longer. I've since decided to stop doing anything too high-impact and opt for walking/yoga to keep active. (The perfect excuse not to have to go out for a run, eh?)

And the big one, my mood. I haven't experienced any changes in my mood (despite everything going on) which I'm very very grateful for. I'm a very upbeat person and rarely get upset or down, and thankfully Roaccutane hasn't changed that. That being said, we're only a month in so let's not jinx anything... 

So far the treatment is absolutely working and all of the side effects are more than manageable, so far so good!

p.s. I've even got a smooth chin for the first time in probably about 10 years - can I get a hooray?